Man: I was shot to avoid divorce

Husband's lawsuit against psychologist details his version

Associated Press

Published 10:58 pm, Friday, December 26, 2014

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This Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 photo provided by the Yonkers, N.Y. Police Department shows Emily Dearden. Dearden, a psychologist with the New York Police Department, has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting her sleeping husband in the head in November, 2013. Her husband, Kenneth Dearden, said his wife had a longtime lover and wanted to end the marriage while avoiding a messy divorce. (AP Photo/Yonkers, N.Y., Police Department) ORG XMIT: NYR101 less

This Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 photo provided by the Yonkers, N.Y. Police Department shows Emily Dearden. Dearden, a psychologist with the New York Police Department, has been charged with attempted murder for ... more

Photo: Uncredited

Man: I was shot to avoid divorce

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Yonkers

A real estate developer who was shot in the head as he slept at home says his cheating wife did it in an attempt to kill him and avoid a messy divorce.

Kenneth Dearden provided an unusually detailed look at the case from his point of view by filing a lawsuit against his wife, a New York Police Department psychologist, a year after the shooting and two weeks before she was arrested.

He said he was sleeping in their upscale suburban home on Nov. 14, 2013, and woke up with a searing pain in his jaw — from a gunshot to the base of his skull. He survived, possibly because the shooter apparently used an antique derringer that had been a gift to his wife from her parents.

Dearden said his wife had been having an affair with a man since 2011 and the man was pressuring her to end her 18-year marriage.

"With Plaintiff no longer in the picture, Defendant could avoid a contentious divorce, keep the marital home and never admit the marital infidelity to any family or friends," says Dearden's lawsuit, which alleges assault, battery and emotional distress and seeks unspecified damages.

Kenneth Dearden and his wife, Emily Dearden, were still living together with their two daughters when the shooting occurred and continued to do so for a year afterward, even after she filed for divorce in August.

Emily Dearden has been charged with attempted murder but denies the charge and her husband's allegations. Her lawyer, Paul Bergman, called the suit "baseless" and retaliation for her divorce filing.

"These new and outrageous allegations by Mr. Dearden, which completely contradict statements he gave the police at the time of the incident a year ago, are clearly being made by a husband who is furious that his wife has filed for divorce," he said.

Emily Dearden is free on $150,000 bail and is suspended from her NYPD job.